
What is your names?
New Silver Girl/Olli Happonen
What is your genre of music?
Rock/Indie Rock/Garage Rock/Classic Rock
Give us a little bio about you.
New Silver Girl is Helsinki based band that I’ve been leading for about eight years now. We did our debut album at Hansa Studios in Berlin back in 2018 with the producer Gordon Raphael. The music and the demos that I had been doing for longer time kind of found their home in that eponymous debut. While gigging with the debuts songs I constantly wrote new songs that create the core for the future releases, Pale Statement Pieces -single in 2021 and forthcoming new album Wild Carnation that we recorded with Raphael at legendary Abbey Road studios in London.
What made you go into music?
As the youngest in my family I got the first influences from my big brother and big sister. Early on my brother was digging the bands like The Black Crowes and kept playing in his stereo ”Jealous Again”, ”Twice as Hard” and the whole immortal ”Southern Harmony and Musical Companion” -album constantly. My sister introduced me the grunge of Nirvana, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden. It didn’t take me long to refine my knowledge of music further after discovering old delta blues and on the other hand Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, PJ Harvey and finally garage rock like The Sonics. At the same time, the world was invaded by new garage rock waves through The Strokes and Hives, which I still dig madly.
Who are your influences?
This list could go on forever. I can give you immortal and untouchable top forty. There you go! Lou Reed, Howlin’ Wolf, Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, The Smiths, Pulp, The Sonics, Jimi Hendrix, Iggy Pop (and The Stooges), David Bowie, Television, The Hellacopters, The Beatles, John Cale, The Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, Oasis, The Flaming Sideburns, Patti Smith, Muddy Waters, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Bob Dylan, The Band, John Coltrane, The Strokes, Flaming Groovies, Hanoi Rocks, Gram Parsons, White Stripes, Joni Mitchell, Townes van Zandt, MC5, The Raconteurs, Neil Young, AC/DC, The Black Crowes, Velvet Underground, Aretha Franklin.
Are you a signed?
Yes for Ivana Helsinki Records that is very close to my heart.
You released new single ‘Blue Room’ tell us more about the single.
The song refers to country rock legend Gram Parsons and also to my own experiences in a small town of Rauma where the mythical popular culture of USA seemed to be so far away.
Describe the track in two words.
Desert Rock
What was the writing and recording process like?
At Abbey Road I felt I had to write a kind of love letter to garage rock – an art form of internal revolution which in recent years has been threatened with extinction – but I hope and believe it will always find a way to survive. We recorded the band first live in very traditional way (with Raphael we always do that: first the whole band real live together then the overdubs). I guess it took for us only one to three takes to get on 2inch tape. It was especially a lot of fun to lay down on the Abbey Road studio two’s floor and think about the Fab Four while getting the meanest sounds you can imagine from the Vox AC15.
You also released the video for Blue Room. Tell us all about the creative process behind the making.
The video is by Paola Suhonen (Ivana Helsinki). It has been shot at Joshua Tree desert where Gram Parsons tend to hang out.
You are set to release the new album. Tell us more about it, the creative process and meaning about the album.
I usually start songwriting with the acoustic guitar in my hand and ask if it has something to tell me, something that could surprise me a little bit. We got along pretty well before Abbey Road, me and the guitar. I tried to make our music few more layers this time, a bit more color: a bit more ”Let It Bleed” but still enough ”Aftermath”. Lyrically speaking the name of the album Wild Carnation refers to the individual’s freedom to exist, to be a human being on these times of oversaturated, influencer-driven attention economy markets. It is the game we lose. So why to play it? Carnation as a flower has also beautiful connotation in modern history.
Do you have any live shows coming up?
We have a record release gig at Bar Loose in Helsinki on February 28 and the spring and summertime gigs are to be announced very soon.
Let us know where we can get tickets if so.
www.barloose.com
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
I guess I’ll keep searching the mystery of music and the son
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
“Never try to convey your idea to the audience – it is a thankless and senseless task. Show them life, and they’ll find within themselves the means to assess and appreciate it.” (Andrei Tarkovsky)
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
Telecaster guitar, Vox Ac15, some very cool jacket and shoes, Shure 55 mic.
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Website
BandCamp